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Painted turtle

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The shell of this turtle is ringed with yellow or red. The horny shields are black or greenish. Its head, neck, legs and tail are covered in clearly visible yellow or red stripes. There are four subspecies of painted turtle.

Reproduction

Mating occurs mainly in spring. The male attracts the female by swimming on his back in front of her while stroking her cheeks and chin with his long claws. After mating, the female lays up to a dozen eggs, which she then buries. The eggs hatch 50 to 80 days later.

Diet

Predators

On land, the adults may be attacked by various predators or crushed by cars. The young are eaten by frogs, snakes, herons, minks and racoons.

Habitat

Painted turtles live mainly in ponds, marshes, lakes and slow-moving rivers with loose bottoms and abundant vegetation. The species is common in North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico.

Ecology, behaviour

The red colouring of baby turtles serves as a warning to any fish that might prey on them, such as bass and pike. If swallowed, a baby turtle could damage the fish's digestive system and gills with its claws. The sex of painted turtles is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Eggs hatched at temperatures of 25 to 27°C produce males, while those hatched between 30 and 32°C produce females.

French name

Scientific name

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Size

Weight

Male: 1.25 to 3 kg; female: 1.78 to 4.75 kg

Life span

In captivity: 18 years; in the wild: 34 years

Status

Least concern (IUCN)

At the Biodôme

Painted turtles may be spotted in the beavers' habitat in the Laurentian Maple Forest ecosystem, often sunning themselves on the ground or a log. In fall, we remove them from the ecosystem to allow them to hibernate in more stable conditions: we place them in a dark, cold refrigerator until spring. The sub-species presented at the Biodôme is the midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata).